1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to doormat device and more specifically to a shoe cleaning doormat device for cleaning and disinfecting feet or shoes prior to entry into a dwelling.
During the course of their daily lives, individuals acquire a great deal of dirt on the soles of their shoes. Surfaces such as roads and sidewalks have a high content of food waste, animal excrement, organic decompositions, dirt and debris. This dirt contains harmful bacteria that could pose serious health risks if brought into a household or dwelling. If dirt is not removed prior to entry, it can be tracked into a building and deposited on clean floors. Dirt left on floors results in an unclean appearance and promotes the proliferation of harmful bacteria. Doormats can reduce the risk of unclean floors and bacterial growth by providing a surface that may be rubbed upon to affect the removal of dirt. Entry mats are commonly placed outside the doorways of homes, office buildings and businesses to remove dirt and debris from the soles of shoes prior to an individual's entry into the building; however these devices are typically simple, carpeted or moisture-absorbing surfaces that collect particulate dirt and debris. After continual use, these devices become imbedded with dirt, dust and debris that limit their usefulness when cleaning a user's feet or shoes. These devices would be advanced by the addition of a disinfecting, moistening and drying capability in addition to a simple surface that merely removes of visible dirt and debris particles from a user's feet or shoe soles. These devices would similarly be improved if provided a means to advance a new, unused surface to affect dirt removal after each use.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art contains a variety of shoe-cleaning doormat devices for cleaning and disinfecting the shoes or the feet of a user. These devices have familiar design and structural elements for the purposes of cleaning soles of shoes and feet; however they are not adapted for the task of providing a disposable means for cleaning and disinfecting shoes and feet prior to a user's entry into a dwelling.
Blum et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,778 discloses a floor mat having a base portion and a cleanable insert portion. The cleanable insert portion fits within a recess in the base portion. The floor mat contains a modifiable display portion in either the removable insert or base. This modifiable display may comprise an erasable writing board, an LCD display, electric paper, or other electrical display device. This display is in wireless communication with a computer or network so that a user may remotely modify the message displayed upon the floor mat. In addition to the modifiable display Blum contemplates an antibacterial and antifungal composition within the insert portion or base portion for cleaning a user's shoes. Blum suggests that an antibacterial composition could be sprayed on the mat or integrated into the mat material as pellets or fibers. Blum does not disclose disposable antibacterial wipes as a means for cleaning a user's shoes. A roller mechanism for antibacterial wipes is similarly not contemplated by Blum, nor is an activation button for advancing the roller such that an unused wipe is made available to a user.
Pruitt, U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,160 discloses a doormat comprising a mat frame, a wiping mat portion, a liquid reservoir, a plurality of cylindrical brushes in parallel alignment, a liquid absorbing fabric, and a stretcher for maintaining the same in a taut position. The mat portion is made of stiff fibers so that a user may wipe their shoes on the mat to dislodge dirt and debris. The brushes are secured to interior walls of the liquid reservoir such that a portion of the brush bristles are exposed above the liquid reservoir. At least one of the cylindrical brushes rotates about a central axis. When a user rubs the soles of his or her shoes over the bristles of the brushes, they rotate. Refreshing the brush bristles with liquid and cleaning the soles of the user's shoes. The liquid absorbing fabric is removably retained in a taut configuration by the stretcher.
The wiping mat, the liquid reservoir and the liquid absorbing material are inset into compartments in the mat frame of the device. The liquid absorbing material of Pruitt is not movable and when the fabric becomes soiled it must be removed and replaced by a user, unlike the rotating mechanism of the instant invention that provides a fresh cleaning wipe to a user. Additionally the fabric wipes of Pruitt are used to dry the soles of a user's shoes. Not moisten and disinfect them like moist disinfecting wipes of the present invention.
Rotoli, U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,309 discloses a doormat having a wiping mat portion, a trough insert, a sponge material, and an elastic grating. The trough insert sits within the wiping mat portion and retains disinfecting liquid. Sponge material is housed within the trough, where it absorbs and retains disinfecting liquid. An elastic grating extends to all four edges of the trough, enclosing the sponge material therebetween. When a user rubs his or her shoe across the elastic grating, the grating deforms and permits the shoe to depress the sponge material thereby releasing disinfecting liquid onto the shoe. In this manner pressing and rubbing it upon the elastic grating portion of the doormat may clean a shoe. This device does not include a disposable fabric moist wipe, or a rolling mechanism for providing a user with an unused wipe.
Hughes, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0104782 discloses a cleaning and disinfecting device for feet and shoes. The device comprises a main frame assembly, a waste recovery tray, support bars, a rubber mat, and a wand attachment. The rubber mat lies upon the support bars, which extend across the top of the main frame assembly to disperse the weight of a user. In the center of the main frame and attached to the support bars, there are a plurality of brush manifolds for removably retaining a plurality of bristle brushes. A liquid conduit is disposed within each brush manifold and a nozzle secured to the liquid conduit extends from the top of said brush manifold. These bristle brushes extend upward from the manifold, through the rubber mat so that they may contact the bottom of a user's shoe or foot.
Hughes further discloses a fluid injection system sends cleaning or disinfecting liquid through the liquid conduits and into the bristle brushes to facilitate the cleaning and disinfecting of shoes or feet. Used cleaning fluid runs downward into the waste recovery tray. Fluid injection is trigger by a user stepping upon the central area of the cleaning mat device. A wand attachment is tethered to the device and may be used to clean the top of a user's shoes. There is no disclosure of disposable wipes or a roller mechanism for providing an unused wipe to a user. Hughes relies on bristle brushes to clean and disinfect shoes and feet, as opposed to cleaning wipes as described in the present invention.
None of the prior art devices disclose an advancing button operably connected to a roller mechanism to rotate the roller and supply a fresh mat for consecutive users. The devices disclosed by the prior art also do not address the need for a disposable means of cleaning and disinfecting the soles of shoes and feet. The current invention relates to a device for cleaning the soles of shoes or feet a roll of disposable disinfecting wipe, wherein a fresh surface is made available on demand by a user. It substantially diverges in structural elements from the prior art, consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing shoe-cleaning doormat devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.